Domestic wine news, local event

We're keeping things closer to home and sticking to domestic hap's in the wine world this week. First up... it's harvest time! And the reports from Napa are look'n good. Moderate summer temps have kept viticulturists and vintners happy with easy, early-ish picking. Not only are sugar levels lower (which is a constant struggle in California) but yields are manageable. (In a down economy, there's always bound to be more juice available than consumers demand. This year there might actually be a fairly happy balance on that front!) Check out what some vintners are saying via Decanter's recent article.

Next up... we have some new developments on the highly contested Massachusetts Direct Shipping Laws.  Check out this update via Wine Business!

Last, but certainly NOT least.... Here at Pour Favor we work with any wine shop that can supply the fine wines we select for a given wine tasting event. One of our favorites (and actually our first partner in crime) is Ball Square Fine Wines in Somerville. This Saturday, Oct. 17, they are hosting their annual Fall Grand Wine Tasting soiree. This is never an event to miss, but this year in particular you'll want to get in on the fun: they've just expanded their shop! See how far along they are with the renovations at 716 Broadway while tasting 50+ wines.  The event will run from 2 - 5pm. Be warned! The early bird gets the worm...

Are you sick of the direct shipping madness in MA? What's your take?

October's Wicked Wine Picks!

October poses a cliche opportunity to pick truly wicked wines. But rather than picking “scary” (seriously out of the ordinary) wines for this month’s line up, we’ve gone a different route. October's wine picks reflect a greater need for something familiar and comforting in a climate-changing time. Better yet, they serve as an escape from the same-old-same, just in case you’ve gotten too set in your back to school routine or forgot to take a vacation over the summer. October is a month to mix it up! And so we have. Pop on over to Wicked Local today to see what fabulousness we've stirred up!

A good cause for wine, a good read and surprising industry news

Got Graham? Or have you at least tasted one (or more) of the Bonny Doon wines? What did you think? My experience tells me most winemakers are a bit bizarre - the level and specific style of bizarreness being unique to each, of course. But I do think there is something super special about the California bread of crazy winemaker. Yeah, they are brilliant; but they push The Envelope more knowingly or deliberately somehow (whereas folks from Washington or Oregon, Spain, France and the like operate as they are, just bizarre creatures making wine). Joe Roberts, aka 1WineDude, reviewed Randall Graham's new book Been Doon So Long and also chatted with the winemaker this week about it. Pretty freaking funny. Entertain yourself reading Robert's blog post over lunch. Then grab a copy and report back with your opinion of  it.

By way of news this week, my old favorite Gourmet magazine is going under! I couldn't believe the headline. I mean, yeah, wine has been less a focus for sometime, but the photos are gorgeous, the journalism interesting, and the recipes worth investigating. Plus, it is an institution! Read more at Decanter. Are you upset? Or have you found another pub to entertain you?

Last but not least, for those in the Boston area you can support a good cause while enjoying some vino. On Oct 15 hang out on the rooftop at the Taj, taste some wine and support the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston. Click here for tickets and more information.

The art and science of great Champagne

One of the simplest pleasures in life is bubbles. Thank goodness they are all around us, from soap, to a delicate “Top Chef” food foam, to the beach! Remember being a kid and blowing them? You couldn’t help but smile every time you created one, and the bigger, the better. Then there was going to the beach, wading through the foam a crashed wave leaves behind and attempting to capture the remnants in your cupped hands. I still relish the smell of the ocean, transmitted as the waves crash and the mist gets picked up and sent to my nose.... But are these attributes beneficial for the enjoyment of sparkling wine, also?

Head on over to Wicked Local today to find out!

What do you love about Champagne?

Friday wine musings

Good news! This week there was much more wine fodder to catch my fancy. So, let's jump right in! First, from the tasting "room":

Gaiter and Brecher over at The Wall Street Journal are continuing their plight to find domestic wine deals. I'm not convinced my taste test would have produced the same outcome on their American Cab-off, but their banter and findings are worth checking out here. And they are right on this point: you should ask your local wine guru what deals they have in stock. 'Cause they're definitely out there!!

Last but not least, Dr. Debs has had her own challenge at play: finding good Pinot Noir under $20. I argue it's nearly impossible to find anything drinkable under $15, but there are some good ones in the $15 to $20 range. I may have to join her efforts and supply the wine curious out there with a few of my own Pinot Noir recs. Too good to miss those, too!

And now, from "Hollywood":

New wine movie in the making: "The First Big Crush" is being made into a movie, reports Decanter. What's better than a visual tour of New Zealand, wine making - and wine drinking? Here's hoping the premier allows a bit of that...

New wine show in the making?? I have to say, the New Zealand headline also reminded me that "The Winemakers" reality show should have premiered by now. Granted I'm not much of a TV watcher, but I thought I would have seen more fodder in the wine world prompting me to turn on the tube! Noth'n. Has anyone seen this yet? Day/time??

Does Cambridge have any wine bars?

For some reason, despite the tremendous talent in the wine trade that abounds, Boston and its surrounding communities seem to lack a clear understanding of what a wine bar is - and execute on it. For me a wine bar is: 1) A more intimate establishment or lounge where an ample offering of fine wines are available by the glass as well as the bottle;

2) A venue where a wide selection of more boutique old and new world wines are carefully selected by a wine director, and staff is fully trained to answer questions and make food pairing recommendations;

3) An eatery offering an inventive menu and a range of plate sizes where wine is celebrated.

Head on over to Wicked Local today to see which venue on this side of the Charles remotely resembles any one (or all) of these descriptors!

What's your favorite area wine bar?

Friday Wine Fodder

I suspect with the wine trade's "tasting season" well underway, the Powers That Be at various publications (whether print or more socially-driven), are a bit behind in their usual operations. I know I'm a bit tuckered out, sampling wares from all over the world to suss out the Best of the Best for consumers.  My suspicion stems from a surprising lack of wine news this week. That said, I think I've found a few articles to distract you from your own work today. France is proving a bit fickle in their health/wine reports these days. Check out this Decanter article to learn which way they are flipping (or flopping?) this week.

And South Africa proves a tempting ground - for theft! Did you hear about this major wine heist?

Finally, don't forget to get on the tasting bandwagon yourself in the next week or so! Remember there are a couple of events you should consider attending:

Sept 25-27

Newport Mansions Food & Wine Festival Here’s what they’re saying about it: “Presented by Food & Wine, this spectacular event will feature more than 400 wines from around the world and cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs Jacques Pépin, Joanne Weir, David Burke and more culinary experts.” Click here for more info and to get your tickets today (and be sure to poke around the web for discount codes…).

Sept 29

All New England 3rd Annual Farm-Fresh Funky Feeding Frenzy @ Craigie on Main. From their lips to our ears, here’s what to expect:  “a 5-course dinner with wine pairings. We have thrown down a challenge to ourselves and pledge to meet it: every single offering on the menu will have been grown, raised or caught within our New England borders.”

Have you sipped and sampled at all this fall? Where abouts?

Fired Up: Do the Right Thing, Consumers!

I heart Port. I have said this many times. So imagine my horror when one of the best in the Port winemaking business tells me they have done research.... and have found Americans are drinking Vintage Port younger and younger. Five minutes later I was tasting the Burmester Vintage Port 2007. That's somewhat normal in the trade, because that's how we grow in our wine knowledge - knowing through a quick taste where Port starts, and, most importantly, gaining appreciation for where it goes. Trust me when I tell you the 2007 is some YOUNG stuff.  The 2005 isn't much better. Both are bitingly acidic, tannic and, well, as someone recently described too-young-stuff (who I really respect), I wanted to pull my gums out over my teeth. Yes, you may have guessed, that is NOT cool.

Port is something to behold. It is something that, when done well and has the right amount of age under its belt, has finesse AND structure. I like mine best when it has been aged for an extended period of time. Like 20 Year Tawny. Or the 1985 or 1990 Burmester Coleheita (single vintage, single vineyard Port).

Please readers. Do yourself a favor and contribute to a more efficacious marketing trend: stop buying YOUNG Port! This stuff is meant to be aged. It mellows, often gaining exotic brown spices, burnt orange peel essence, sultry caramel and vanilla notes, all on top of a luscious layer of fruit - whether stewed plums, figs or blackraspberries. Why give that up?

Come on.

Don't.

Buy.

Port.

Too.

Young.

It's worth the wait.

Enough said.

Part II: How Lower Falls Wine Co. delivers the goods

Just a couple of weeks ago we were reveling in Luke Wohler’s Labor Day wine picks. But with the craziness of back to school/back to work/back to life, perhaps you’ve inquired at your local shop about the wines he recommended - but not yet made it over to Lower Falls Wine Co. to see what they’re all about for yourself. Who better to tempt you than Wohler’s himself? Pop on over to Wicked Local today for four great reasons to break out of your autumn routine and get a little taste of something special!

Do you "travel" for great wine shop experiences?

Wine news decanted, uncorked (and every other possible wine analogy)

Now with just about a week under its belt, I bring to you news of a new online wine "magazine". One of the top folks in wine and social media, David Honig of Two Days Per Bottle, has launched "Palate Press". Honig has brought together a dynamic lineup of some of the web's most prominent wine folk, including "Dr. Debs" from Good Wine Under $20, Lenn Thomspon of LENNDEVOURS, and Gabriella Opaz (Catavino).  It's an interesting idea - convening a group of some of the hottest "faces" in wine-social-media - and one I am interested to see progress. For many of us wine blogging is just one of the many hats we wear. We either have a serious passion for wine, or a position in the trade, (or both), giving us unique perspective on wine. And certainly it is the "average person" who consumers are looking to for "real" information about something. At the same time, I'm always initially weary of who IS behind their computer musing away. Are they just gabbing about their own adventures as they experience wine for themselves organically? Or do they have a larger agenda and wouldn't necessarily be prepared to take the Pop Quiz?  With so much information whirling around the web, it can be hard to discern who's who and discriminate accordingly.

Palate Press Logo: credit via the link below

Given his lineup of contributors (with a few exceptions), I am really excited about Honig's idea and who he has brought to bear on the project - and a bit envious I didn't think of it myself! It's a great way to capture some of the best of the best information and ideas out there in the world of wine, stir up some banter over more contentious topics and really engage consumers in a concerted way. I hope their "blogazine" does what wine does best: engage the senses and push you to think critically about what you're consuming.

Kudos to their launch! Shall we give them a few weeks to "earn" the toast of success?

What do you think about this blogazine concept? Will you be tuning in?